The Rolling Stones score first U.K. No. 1 in over two decades with 'Blue & Lonesome'

The Rolling Stones have bagged their first U.K. No. 1 studio album in 22 years with their latest effort Blue & Lonesome, released Dec. 2 via Polydor/Universal. The legendary British rocker's long awaited follow up to 2005's A Bigger Bang racked up massive sales during its debut week in its home country to earn the band its 12th official U.K. No. 1 album.

Billboard reports on Dec. 9 that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers moved 106,000 units in combined sales to take top spot on the U.K.'s Official Albums Chart on Friday. The multi-platinum sellers dominated their competition with Michael Ball & Alfie Boe’s Together coming closest at No. 2, earning 71,000 sales.

Blue & Lonesome's super holiday season performance earned it the U.K.'s second-highest opening week sales of 2016 and gold certification by BPI. The “Satisfaction” hitmakers were denied the record held by the late great David Bowie, whose swan song album Blackstar earned the year's best debut week, moving 146,000 in combined sales.

The World's Greatest Rock N' Roll Band has not hit No. 1 on the U.K. album charts since the release of 1994's Voodoo Lounge. Their last studio album A Bigger Bang just missed top spot back in 2005, peaking at No. 2.

The Stones were understandably elated about Blue & Lonesome's reception. Posting to their official Twitter account on Friday, the band wrote, “Thank you for making Blue & Lonesome No. 1 this week!”

Although results won't be officially released to the public until Tuesday, pundits predict that the album will also perform extremely well in the U.S. and will likely debut at No. 2. Hits Daily Double anticipates Blue & Lonesome will enjoy approximate sales of around 95,000 and will likely trail he Broadway musical “Hamilton” mixtape, which is expected to earn top spot.

Fans can check out the latest official video from Blue & Lonesome for their single “Ride 'em on Down.” The video stars “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart and can be viewed here.

Blue & Lonesome features 12-tracks and is available here in both standard and deluxe editions in CD, vinyl and digital formats. For all the latest information on The Rolling Stones, click here.

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